243 – Ken Miller – Myth Buster.

1350 words (12 minutes reading time) by Lancing Farrell

Summary

Ken Miller’s book, “We Don’t Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving,” presents the author’s experiences of working in government and his insights on the three myths that hinder the improvement of government services. The first myth is that government services are intangible and cannot be measured or managed, unlike widgets in the manufacturing industry. The second myth is that the people receiving government services cannot be considered customers, as they are hostages who cannot make choices about the provider and have competing interests. The third myth is that governments are not here to make a profit, which Miller defines as the private sector’s way of measuring return on investment.

Thank you to Adam Thompson from Zen Organisations for heading me in the direction of Ken Miller and his book ‘We Don’t Make Widgets’, subtitled, Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving. It is an interesting read from the viewpoint of someone who has worked in government and spent their life trying to improve it.

Ken Miller was an original myth buster.

Continue reading

221 -The Vanguard method in Australia.

By Tim Whistler                                                                                                         1000 words

Progressive leaders

The summit offered an opportunity for those who are unfamiliar with the Vanguard method to hear about work that has been done in Australia by IOOF (a superannuation fund manager) and the County Courts Registry using the Vanguard method. Vanguard team members presented public service case studies from the UK.

It was an interesting event and it highlighted the potential for leaders to think differently and better understand how work is being performed in their organisation, what is happening in delivering value to customers, and how improvements can be made.

There were several issues relevant to local government in Victoria. Continue reading

74 – More books to read if you are interested in local government management.

Posted by Lancing Farrell                                                                              660 words

Leahy and Greene books

I have previously posted on books every local government manager should read (see here and here). Again I will acknowledge the difficulty in getting people in local government to read and learn especially senior management. My earlier posts started with what I call ‘bread and butter’ reading. This post looks at some more focussed reading on specific aspects of management relevant to local government. Continue reading

73 – ‘Social media changes the rules of engagement’ , The Age, 4 April 2015

Posted by Colin Weatherby                                                                         730 words

multi channel

This article contains a healthy warning for local government about the need to design services with the customer in mind, and to look ‘outwards-in’. There have been a number of previous posts on services (see here, here, here and here). Disgruntled customers of councils are just as likely to use social media to vent their anger and concerns.

“Customers want influence over the contents of what they’re buying; they customise the muesli they order online; stream entertainment that is tailored to their interests, and pitch ideas to software companies as they develop new products.”

In this environment, councils that just continue to offer the same old services, or who alter services in ways that make them less responsive to customers, or more responsive but less reliable, are likely to frustrate people using those services. Continue reading